The PowerBASIC User Interface

The PowerBASIC IDE was designed to provide you with the tools you need to quickly and intuitively develop high-performance applications.  This section briefly describes each element of the IDE.

• File Menu

  New File	Create a new empty document in the editor.
  New File As…	Create a new empty document in the editor, using a specified file template.
  Open File…	Use the Open dialog box to load an existing document.
  Open Recent File...	A list of the most recently loaded source code documents.
  Open Project...	Use the Open dialog box to load an existing project file.
  Save File	Save the current document using its current name.
  Save File As…	Save the current document using a new name.
  Save All	Saves all the files loaded in the IDE.
  Save As Project...	Saves all the files loaded in the IDE as a project.
  Print…	Print the current document.
  Close File	Closes the current document.
  Close All Files	Closes all files open in the editor.
  Undo Last Close	Re-opens the last file closed in the editor.
  Command Prompt	Open a command prompt window ("DOS box").
  Exit	Close all open documents and exit the IDE.

   

• Edit Menu

  Undo	Undo the last action or deletion.
  Delete	Delete the selected text.
  Cut	Remove selected text and place it in the Clipboard.
  Copy	Copy the selected text and place it in the Clipboard.
  Copy as BB Code	Copy text to the clipboard as BB Code for posting in the PowerBASIC Forums.
  Paste	Copy text from the Clipboard into the current document.
  Select All	Select all the text in the current document.
  Marked block...	Perform the selected operation on every line in the selected block.  Operations include comment/uncomment, indent/unindent by a tab level, and indent/unindent by one space.
  Insert GUID	Inserts a new unique GUID at the current insertion point.
  Insert File	Insert a document (file) at the caret position in the current document.
  Find	Search the current document for a selected word or phrase.  See Find dialog for more information.
  Find Next	Search the current document for the next occurrence of the previous word or phrase used in Find.
  Replace	Search the current document for a selected word or phrase and replace it.  See Replace dialog for more information.
  Go to Line	Move the caret to the selected line number in the current document.  See Go to Line dialog for more information.
  Go to Bookmark	Move the caret to the selected bookmark in an open document.
  Code Finder	The Code Finder dialog presents a list of Subs, Functions, Methods, Properties, and Macros in current document, to quickly jump to a selected section of code.

   

• Run Menu

  Compile	Compile the current source document or, if you’ve chosen one, the Primary Source File.
  Compile and Execute	Compile and then Run the current source document or, if you’ve chosen one, the Primary Source File.
  Compile and Debug	Compile and then Debug the current source document or, if you’ve chosen one, the Primary Source File.
  Set Primary Source File	Define which module to compile when the Compile or Debug options are selected.  The Primary Source File can also be specified via the /P: IDE command-line switch.
  Set DLL/SLL Test File	Specify an .EXE file to run when you select "Compile and Execute" for a DLL or SLL file.
  Clear DLL/SLL Test File	Clears any specified DLL or SLL test file.
  Set Command Line	Set the command-line to pass to the program when debugging or executing from within the IDE.  See COMMAND$.

   

• Tools Menu

  PowerBASIC Library Manager	Open the PowerBASIC Library Manager (POWERLIB.EXE) for adding or removing SLL files from a Library.
  PowerBASIC COM Browser	Open the PowerBASIC COM Browser (PBROW.EXE) to generate COM interface code from Object libraries.
  PowerBASIC Forms	Open the PowerBASIC Forms™ (PBFORMS.EXE) visual designer and code generator application (if installed).

   

• Window Menu

  Options	Display the Options dialog, for configuring the PowerBASIC IDE.
  Next Window	Selects the next source code tab.
  Previous Window	Selects the previous source code tab.
  Select Window...	Select an individual source code tab.

   

• Debug Menu

  Run	In edit mode, this will compile and then debug the current source document or, if you’ve chosen one, the Primary Source File.  In debug mode, this causes your program to run until it hits a breakpoint or ends.
  Run to Caret	Begin running the program.  It continues to run until the debugger either reaches the current line, or encounters a breakpoint, etc.  CTRL+F8 is the hot-key for the Run to Caret option.
  Animate	The debugger runs the program using an automated Step-Into technique.  Execution continues until a breakpoint is reached, the Stop button is pressed, or the program completes.  The Animate delay can be set through the IDE's Options Dialog.
  Stop	Halt the debugger.  If the debugger is already halted, this has no effect.
  Step Into	If the current line contains a call to a Sub, Function, Method, or Property, the debugger traces execution into that procedure.  You cannot step into an API call, or into an external module.  F8 is the Step Into hot-key.
  Step Over	The debugger executes the current line of code.  If the line contains a reference to a Sub, Function, Method, or Property, the debugger executes that code without tracing into the procedure.  SHIFT+F8 is the Step Over hot-key.
  Step Out	The debugger runs the code until the current Sub, Function, Method, or Property exits.  If the current function is PBMAIN or WINMAIN, the code is executed until the program is finished or another breakpoint is encountered.  CTRL+SHIFT+F8 is the Step Out hot-key.
  Clear all Watches	Remove all variables from the Watch window.
  Toggle Breakpoint	Set or release a breakpoint on the current line.  F9 is the Toggle Breakpoint hot-key.
  Clear all Breakpoints	Release all breakpoints in the program.
  Watch CPU Registers	Show or hide the Register Watcher window, which lets you see the state of the CPU registers and flags when debugging.
  Watch Variables	Show or hide the Variable Watcher window, which lets you see the state of the ERR function and any variables you choose to watch when debugging.
  Exit Debugging	Halts the current program and terminates the debugger.  The variable list in the Watch window is retained between debugging sessions, until the IDE is closed.

   

• Help Menu

  Help	Display the PowerBASIC Help file.
  Help for Windows SDK	Display the Win32.hlp help file (if installed).
  [other help files]	Display an add-on help file.
  PowerBASIC Web Site	Launch your default Web Browser and connect to the PowerBASIC web site.
  About PBEdit	Display version information for the PowerBASIC IDE.